Twelve papers on the emergence and maintenance of severe clinical depression and depressive symptoms during adolescence are presented. Topics include parental influences, epidemiological data, depressive and negative affect, hormonal effects, preadolescent symptoms, sex differences, longitudinal studies with rhesus monkeys, suicidal ideation,…

States that students struggling to find ways of establishing independence need support from home, school, and community. Suggests books and activities suitable for classroom use dealing with moving, being different, money, family concerns, and death. (PRA)

Describes ways to improve middle-level preservice education, noting the importance of providing carefully designed educational experiences for 10 to 14-year-olds. Program shortcomings can be reduced by adopting a middle-level orientation and providing prospective teachers with knowledge of young adolescent development and sound middle-level…

Reports on a conference that examined the need for models of effective programs for limited-English-proficient secondary students, research and development on pedagogical approaches to teaching related issues, involvement by educators and researchers in school restructuring and reform, better accountability and assessment, and attention to…

Interlaken School (Indiana) was an elite boys' preparatory boarding school that combined Hall's definitive theory of adolescence and Spencer's theory of social evolution into both a philosophy and a pedagogy. Interlaken was portrayed as an isolated mythologized community that combined manual with mental development and believed that adolescent…

National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data indicate that sense of personal control increased from age 14 to 22. Dropping out of school hampered development; teen pregnancy did not. Adolescent sense of control and further adult development correlated positively with cognitive skill and parental education. Low perceived control predicted subsequent…

Compares alcohol use among Mexican-American and White non-Hispanic school dropouts, and among students in good academic standing. Results indicate that dropouts are at a higher risk for alcohol use and misuse. Discusses implications in terms of prevalence and prevention. (Author/GCP)

Reports on the findings of an Australian survey of adolescents concerning the extent of skipping breakfast. Finds that skippers are more likely to be dissatisfied with their body shape and to be on a diet to lose weight. Findings suggest that skipping breakfast is a matter of individual choice rather than a result of poverty. (Author/GCP)

Studied relationship between adolescents' sleep/wake habits and daytime functioning. Found that self-reported total sleep times decreased from age 13 to 19 years. Struggling or failing students obtained less sleep, went to bed later, and had greater weekend delays of sleep than those with better grades. Students with inadequate sleep reported…

Longitudinal study showed that during 6th and 7th grades boys reported significantly higher levels of self-competence than girls. Boys were less depressed and anxious than girls in 7th grade, but not in 6th grade. Results support the hypothesis that self-competence is partially responsible for the emergence of gender differences in depression and…

Studied interrelationships between dating patterns and trajectories of psychosocial functioning over a year in middle adolescents. Found that increasing casual dating was associated with rising problem behaviors and improved close friendship quality; pathways culminating in steady relationships were accompanied by increasing friendship discord,…

Examines the developmental, familial, and peer deterrents that form barriers to adoption placement, based on interviews with 17 teen mothers in a residential facility. Analyzes responses based on an Eriksonian developmental model, and notes the role of family "cutoffs" and "re-admissions" and peer pressure as deterrents to…

Tested model relating girls' pubertal timing to mothers' history of psychopathology, mediated by family discord and father absence/stepfather presence. Found that mothers' history of mood disorders predicted earlier daughters' puberty, with the relation fully mediated by dyadic stress and biological father absence. Stepfather presence best…

Used cluster analysis to examine eighth graders' self-concept (SC) structures and relate those to behavior in bullying situations. Findings indicated that six groups with similar SC profiles could be identified, which differed significantly from each other in how much members tended to bully others, assist the bully, reinforce the bully, and…

Examined impact of experimentally altering mothers' style when discussing sexuality and AIDS with adolescent children. Found that intervention group mothers reduced their amount of speaking, asked more open-ended questions, acted less judgmental, and discussed dating and sexuality more than did control group mothers. Intervention group adolescents…